DC to Seattle Roadtrip: Days 6-8

September 10, 2015

Good morning friends! Thanks for all of your sweet comments as my mom and I navigate across the USA. I apologize for not being more responsive with commenting, but I promise to play catch-up over the next few days. In case you missed it:

This morning, I’m writing to you from Jackson Hole, WY ↓ after driving over 2,000 miles since last week! We really love it here – Jackson Hole is a cute little resort town just a few miles from the Grand Tetons. The local shops, healthy food options, and gorgeous mountain views are a huge change from some of the scenes we saw in rural Wyoming.

The past few days have definitely been highlights of the trip: we got to visit family in Colorado; stayed in the cutest cabin in the tiny town of Pinedale, WY; and visited the Grand Tetons.

Days 6 – 8: Colorado and Wyoming

Castle Rock, CO

For a few days, I was convinced I had moved to the wrong state because I instantly fell in love with Colorado. I know I already posted this sunset, but I also posted a video to give you a better idea of just how beautiful it was. Imagine a sky filled with layers of midnight blue, cotton candy pink, golden-yellow, and amethyst purple that extended for miles. My mom and I both agreed that the sunset alone was worth the trip through Colorado.

Pinedale, WY

From Castle Rock, it took us about 10 hours, including breaks and traffic, to get to Pinedale, WY. To break up the drive, we stopped at a large thrift store and made a few trips to grab some caffeine. The drive felt really long through most of Wyoming, and we were both getting tired/bored with the same views for 7+ hours ↓. This was also the first leg of the trip where I was really glad I had my mom with me. We felt uncomfortable walking into some of the rest stops even with two of us.

↑ Our view for most of Wyoming

Once we made it to the Log Cabin Motel in Pinedale, our spirits lifted. The 1920’s cabins had a lot of character, and it was fun to explore the small, surrounding cowboy town. At $100 for the night, the Log Cabin Motel was very reasonably priced and I definitely recommend it if you’re driving through this part of the country!

Just a few miles from our cabin was Fremont Lake, Wyoming’s second largest lake. We took a scenic drive around sunset and WOW, what a stunning landscape.

↑ Lake Fremont

↑ Trying to pose on a rock, in a dress

Throughout this trip, we’ve tried to balance being frugal with also taking advantage of some of the rare opportunities to experience new things. One way we’ve tried to save money, while also eating healthier, is making our own breakfast in the morning. ↓ We opted for fruit, nuts, and oatmeal yesterday and it was a great way to kick off the day.

Jackson Hole

As I mentioned above, we a love Jackson Hole. It might be because we (I) accidentally booked us a suite at our hotel. We welcomed the larger room and balcony view of the mountains, and decided that this would be our splurge of the trip.

↑ View from our hotel room

After a week of eating on the road, I was ready for a great, healthy meal. I did some research and discovered Lotus Cafe, which offers organic meat, vegetarian, vegan, raw & gluten free choices. Be still my beating heart…I was in heaven.

I ordered their Bombay Bowl ↓ and after finishing as much as I could, told my mom it was the best lunch I’ve ever had. Whether that was because I was in dire need of some healthy food, or if it really was the best lunch of my life, I’ll never know 🙂 I topped off my lunch with their Chocolate Buttercup Banana smoothie, which had cocoa, almond butter, & gold flax in it. YUM!

Because we splurged on our hotel, we opted to eat in and enjoy our balcony view. We picked up crab cakes, green beans, and brussel sprouts from a little market near our hotel. Our room came with a full kitchen, so all we had to do was heat everything up. We added mini bottles of Pinto Grigio and fancy dessert from CocoLove to top off the meal 🙂

Well, this post just got a lot longer than I was anticipating, so I’ll save the Grand Tetons for my next post. I’ll leave you with this photo from our hike yesterday as a teaser 🙂

I hope you’re having a great week. Talk soon! xo

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About Lauren

Lauren Rice, MPH recently graduated from the Coordinated Dietetics Program at the University of Washington. In January 2017, she opened Nutrition Elevated, her anti-diet, #bodypositive nutrition counseling and consulting small business (www.nutrition-elevated.com).

I’m so glad you’re having a safe and fun trip! I didn’t realize southern Wyoming was that boring and sketchy in areas. We drive through northern Wyoming and thought it was beautiful, but then Montana was so boring until we crossed the Rockies (and then we loved it, especially Missoula). It looks like the Grand Tetons are absolutely beautiful – I’m excited to see more of your photos!Be sure to check out Laura @ This Runner’s Recipes’s recent post: Hiking at Dorothy Lake + Birthday Weekend

I’m excited to read about the Grand Tetons! I love your mini bottle of wine with dinner. I went out to eat last night and had almost the same thing… crabcakes and brussels sprouts. Although I also had mashed potatoes (and I don’t regret it, lol). Hope you guys have safe travels!Be sure to check out Sam @ Grapefruit & Granola’s recent post: BlueSky Planner Review and Giveaway

Hello and welcome!

I'm LAUREN, and I started Just a Pinch in 2014 when I was applying to graduate school to become a registered dietitian nutritionist. In 2017, I started my own small business, Nutrition Elevated, LLC, to help share the breadth of knowledge I learned as a nutrition graduate student at the University of Washington in Seattle!